1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a separating means for separating a recording sheet from a movable member, and more particularly, it relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording sheet by transferring a toner image formed on an image bearing member onto a recording sheet supported by a movable member.
2. Related Background Art
There have been proposed color image forming apparatuses wherein a color image can be obtained by successively transferring different color toner images formed on a photosensitive drum onto a recording sheet supported by a transfer drum in a superimposed fashion. In such image forming apparatuses, a separation pawl interposed between the transfer drum and the recording sheet to separate the recording sheet from the transfer drum is made of metal, for example, iron.
However, when the separation pawl earthed is made of metal, since ions generated by peeling discharge between the recording sheet and the transfer drum are concentrated into an area where the metal pawl is positioned, there is a danger of distorting the non-fixed toner images transferred to the recording sheet. On the other hand, if the separation pawl is made of insulation resin, there arises risk that the non-fixed toner images transferred to the recording sheet are distorted due to friction charge between the separation pawl and the recording sheet.
Further, if the separation pawl is constituted by a metal pawl which is earthed, and a coating layer (coated on the metal pawl) made of insulation resin of fluoro-group, initially, the recording sheets can be separated from the transfer drum. However, in this case, a thickness of the coating layer of the insulation resin of fluoro-group must be reduced to prevent the friction charge between the recording sheet and the resin of fluoro-group (500 .mu.m or less). Therefore, as the number of copies is increased, the coating layer is worn, thereby causing the same problem as the metal pawl.